Pets Pampered with People Products

Companies well-known for
selling people products are expanding into the pet market, hoping their
familiar brand names will appeal to the nation’s 80 million owners of dogs and
cats.

Dozens of companies — from
Harley-Davidson and Jeep to Omaha Steaks and Newman’s Own Organics — now
produce pet clothes, toys and treats.

A slowing
economy isn’t even worrying companies about jumping into thesector.

“I really
have no concerns at all at this point,” says Steven Shweky, president of New
York City-based Pet Head, a dog grooming line by Bed Head. “I think [owners]
will spend on their
pets before they’ll spend on themselves.”

Recent
figures released by American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA,) a
trade group based in Greenwich,
Conn., shows spending on pets
topped $41 billion in 2007 — that’s more than what consumers pay annually to
satisfy their sweet tooth for candy.

With pet
obsession at an all-time high, the APPMA is forecasting 5.5 percent growth
this year.

Paul Mitchell goes to the dogs

Pet Head’s
recent launch of more than 300 products includes apparel and accessories as
well as shampoos, crème rinses and sprays.

Products
are sold in beauty salons nationwide — a sales strategy also used by John Paul
Pet, popular grooming supplies created by John Paul DeJoria, co-founder of Paul
Mitchell hair care products.

“There’s
one dog for every two people in America
so your chances of hitting a pet owner [at a beauty salon] are pretty good,”
explained Pet Head’s Shweky.

Grooming
supplies use similar packaging to Bed Head with bright, bold colors and quirky
names.There’s Fears for Tears (tearless
shampoo), Dirty Talk (deodorizing shampoo) and Furball, a detangling spray.

Doggie
shampoos share the same fragrance as the human cleansers, and are free of chemical additives such as parabens, petroleum
derivatives and propylene glycol.

“We’ve
really raised the bar in the pet
business to mimic what’s going on in the human side, “said Shweky.

Better bowls

Another
company eyeing the pet industry as an additional source of revenue is Dexas
International, a housewares manufacturer in Coppell, Texas.

The
40-year-old company recently introduced Popware for Pets, a line of collapsible
rubber bowls for home or travel.

“This was a
natural cross-over,” said John Hollingsworth who developed the company’s space
saving pet products. Dexas has long manufactured collapsible measuring cups,
colanders and funnels.

The Popware
for Pets line includes turquoise and pink bowls that fit into a chocolate brown
stand — a color scheme that’s hot in both the housewares and pet industries, he
said. When not in use, the dishwasher safe unit flattens to 1.5 inches.

For pups on
the go, the company’s lightweight travel bowl easily clips to a collar or
leash. It holds two cups of water and collapses to a slender quarter of an
inch.

Soft or firm?

Serta
mattress is banking on brand image to sell dog beds, which were introduced for
the first time last month at a pet industry trade show.The recycled polyester filled beds, made in
the United States,
feature removable covers for easy washing.

“The
consumer has confidence in Serta for their own sleep,” said Randy Spence,
president of nVision Marketing in North
Carolina, which heads production and sales of the dog
beds. “And they certainly want that for their animals as well.”

Work is
already under way to add to the line by incorporating features normally found
in specialty mattresses, such as memory foam and orthopedic support.

Those human-grade
dog beds will hit store shelves later this year, he said, with a price tag of
around $200.